I am so excited to share my newest art of the Mediterranean Sea, an oil painting of Venice with you. I think you will agree with me, it shows the beautiful canal city in a very good light (quite literally). This is one of my larger paintings at 28” by 40,” and was painted on linen, so chances are the painting will outlast Venice itself!


I have so many hours in this particular painting, that if I were really living in Venice it wouldn’t surprise me if it weren’t enough time to declare residency. That being said, you would think that I should be glad to see the end of it with the signing of my signature. However, that isn’t the case, in fact I rather lingered for sometime over it until I could do so no longer. On the surface, it seems spending so much time dwelling over this one painting should have something to do with a Central New York winter, which this year seemed to go on forever and ever. Secretly, this painting will always hold an extra special meaning for me for it helped me escape a personal tragedy, which hit home unexpectedly.


I went out to the barn one cold morning in February to feed my two horses, only to find my dear old carriage horse, Ben, dripping in sweat and gasping for air. Ten minutes later he passed away with me holding his head in my lap. I went from two very healthy horses the night before, to one very sad little mare missing her pasture buddy. I was in a state of shock and heartache I couldn’t face head on.

If it had been in the summertime, I would have escaped and found solace in my perennial gardens and lily pond, however, because it was in the middle of winter I wasn’t able to do that. As a landscape artist, I was lucky to be able to find refuge in a world far away from my reality on a beautiful little side canal in Venice. Working on the painting became a type of meditation for me. My senses were so heightened that even the colors seemed to be more intense than usual, I could hear the water lapping against the sides of the brick walls, and feel the boats gently rocking from side to side. I escaped so completely that even my face felt warm from the sun streaming in between the buildings.


With the first brush strokes, I couldn’t see another horse in my future but with the passing of time and a finished canvas, which seems to hold my very soul, I now can see a future with another horse sharing my life and a new friend for my sad little mare.